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Page 51
"But he is not," Ian insisted. "He is as unlike King John as it is possible to be."
"Salisbury loves the king, or at least pretends to do so."
"There is no pretends with Salisbury. He is very open, and he does, indeed, love John."
Alinor's silence was eloquent. Ian frowned, trying to find a way to say what he meant. "Look, I think it comes from their being children together. Salisbury is some two or three years the elder. John, being what he is, was always in trouble, even as a child. Salisbury, as elder brother, always protected him. It has grown into a habit. Often he disapproves of what John does"
"You did not listen to him say that?" Alinor asked, horrified.
"Yes I did," Ian snapped, "and I spoke my mind on the subject also, and neither of us spoke treason! You need not look like that, Alinor. I am not a child."
"That remains to be seen," Alinor flared back, "but I have no desire that my husband be summoned for conspiracy or whatever other fancy name the king wishes to use to destroy you. Do you doubt that every word you said was poured into the king's ears?"
Several impulses hit Ian at once. There was the normal male reactiona desire to tell Alinor to mind her needle and keep her mouth shut. Unlike Simon, Ian had not been raised in a court where the queen wielded almost as much power as the king. Long as he had known Alinor, he was still often surprised by her masterful manner, more now because she had been so soft and yielding to Simon in the last year of his life. Then, there was his desire to defend Salisbury from the accusation of deceit and, incidentally, himself from the implied accusation of being a fool. Overriding all was the conviction that Alinor really had accepted his offer. The possessive way she had said "my husband" left no doubt in his mind. He moved closer.
"You will take me, then?"

 
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